This invention relates generally to the field of carts, particularly those carts that are used in supermarket and grocery stores, and is directed to a new and novel cart having flared protective flanges around the wheel castor housings to prevent inadvertent damage to surrounding objects and to the wheel castors themselves.
Ideally, carts of the type used in supermarkets and the like should stand up to heavy use and should be easy to push and to maneuver. The condition of the wheel castors have a great impact in this regard. The carts should also be designed to prevent inadvertent damage to other adjacent structures and objects which the cart is required to maneuver around.
Carts of the prior art are usually comprised of a wheeled tubular metal frame to which is attached a basket of open wirework or plastic construction. Much has been done to improve the maneuverability of carts of the prior art and to make them less prone to damage and abuse. Many of these improvements have been directed toward the basket portion of the cart. See, for example, applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 3,999,774 and 4,273,346. While the improvements typified by these patents have resulted in carts that are far superior to those previously known in the art, these carts remain somewhat deficient in the area of the wheel castors.
Carts of the prior art usually have a plurality of castors supporting the cart frame. The exposed nature of these castors makes them subject to continuous impact with other adjacent carts and stationary objects, often causing damage to the carts and objects impacted. The problem is aggravated when the cart is used in conjected and close quarters, as for example, in crowded supermarkets where the cart must be maneuvered around closely spaced gondolas of merchandise and other carts. The edges of the wheel castor housings often scrape and gouge the gondolas, particularly when the cart is turning around a corner. An accumuation of such impacts can lead to such a deterioration of the gondolas that they must be replaced. Because the edges of the rear wheel castor housings in most carts of the prior art extend outward of the main body of the cart, the rear castors are particularly likely to cause this kind of damage.
Apart from causing inadvertent damage to other adjacent carts and stationary objects, the wheel castors are themselves susceptible to being damaged. The rear castors are particularly at risk because they usually are not permitted to swivel as are the front castors. Thus, when impacted, rather than rotate with the force, the rear castors must often absorb the full blunt of the impact, thereby increasing the likelihood that they will be damaged.
In conventional shopping carts, the rear wheel castors are usually riveted to the cart frame to provide the requisite integrity for strength and rigidity of the entire wheeled frame. The rear castors are, therefore, difficult to replace when they become damaged. Rather than replace damaged castors, the cart is often discarded altogether or allowed to remain in service to the agrravation and consternation of the user.
Impacts to the side and rear of the rear wheel castors are not the sole source of concern. The castors are often damaged when the cart is pushed up over a curb, e.g., in front of a supermarket. The rear castors have a tendency to catch on the edge of the curb and can easily become damaged.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a cart having means to prevent the rear wheel castors from causing inadvertent damage to surrounding objects and from themselves being easily damaged during routine use.